We told you about Conversocial already – a service that helps you organize and respond to customer feedback on Twitter.

Well, they just released a new study analyzing the Twitter conversations about four major US retailers: Costco, Kroger, Safeway, and Walgreens.

[They] analyzed 11,723 tweets mentioning the four brands during the 24-hour period of January 8th, 2013. The study revealed that during that time frame, 37% of brand-associated tweets were customer service-related, while only 3% of tweets were tweeted directly at the retailers using an “@mention.”

“Our research proves that there is an immense amount of conversation surrounding retailers on Twitter, and much of it consists of consumers voicing concern or requesting assistance with a variety of issues,” according to Liel Leibovitz, Assistant Professor of Communications at New York University, who conducted the study commissioned by Conversocial.

A total of 4,367 customer service-oriented tweets were sent about the four brands during the study period.

And with 97% of tweets NOT referencing the brands’ Twitter handles (just the company’s name), that meant only “352 out of 11,732 customer messages about any of the four brands on Twitter were directly communicated.” And the rest would likely be missed.

“A vast number of people are now turning to Twitter to engage in conversations about and with their favorite brands— presenting a huge opportunity for businesses to reach out to customers, efficiently identify conversations that need response, and prevent inquiries from escalating beyond repair,” said Conversocial CEO Joshua March.